How to stay competitive in the product recall insurance market?
Torino, the 4th of October 2025
Latest trends of product recall insurance
In Q1 2025, European product recalls reached 3,925 events across five key industries , the highest quarterly total in 11 years, according to Sedgwick’s latest European Product Safety and Recall Index . At the same time, insurers are operating in a soft European insurance market , with strong capacity and mounting competition driving premiums slightly down as Marsh Advisory reports that insurance rates in Europe declined 1% in Q1 2025
For underwriters in the product recall insurance sector, the challenge is clear: how to stay competitive on price without compromising financial resilience, especially as the new EU Product Liability Directive (PLD) expands liability to cover not only traditional products, but also software, AI systems, digital updates, and modified products, while easing the burden of proof for claimants
The Pricing Dilemma in Recall Insurance
Premium competition can be a double-edged sword. On one hand, it helps insurers remain attractive to buyers. On the other , excessive undercutting undermines the ability to absorb catastrophic recall losses. As Hiscox notes , the market must ensure that competition for premium does not come at the cost of accurate , risk-based pricing . This tension – ensuring coverage remains accessible to buyers while viable for insurers – reflects the broader challenge of insurance pricing competition in recall lines.
The Data Gap: Why Underwriters struggle with Pricing?
A major challenge in recall insurance is the scarcity of reliable loss data. Underwriters often rely on historical averages instead of structured, auditable information, leading to commoditized pricing and limited differentiation between risks. As Market Report Analytics (2024) notes, this lack of robust data contributes directly to pricing vulnerability and portfolio instability in insurance.
How Can Insurers stay Competitive on Price? The Rcalls Solution
Rcalls supports underwriters with the tools to maintain competitive yet sustainable pricing by turning fragmented quality data into structured, auditable insights. The platform provides:
- Component-level risk profiles – making exposure visible at scale.
- Traceable quality data and full event tracking – to strengthen underwriting discipline.
- Structured, auditable insights – enabling differentiation beyond price alone.
- Access to verifiable risk information from smaller manufacturers – giving underwriters visibility that was previously unavailable.
With Rcalls, insurers can resist “blind price competition” and strengthen underwriting discipline, without losing competitiveness in a crowded market.
The opportunity of data for the product recall insurance
Europe’s recall insurance market is at a crossroads: record recall activity, new liability rules, and intense premium competition. Competing on price alone is unsustainable. The future belongs to insurers who pair competitive premiums with data-driven resilience.
At Rcalls, we deliver the structured recall risk data and tools underwriters need to stay competitive on price. Contact us to see how our platform can support your pricing strategy in today’s evolving European recall market.
